Most of the players selected for India’s first Test against Bangladesh, including Rishabh Pant, K.L. Rahul, and Shubman Gill, have been rested for the second round of the Duleep Trophy, starting on September 12.
Other players from the national squad, such as Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Dhruv Jurel, are also exempt from participating in the second round. However, left-arm pacer Yash Dayal and Sarfaraz Khan, who are also part of India’s 16-man squad for the opening Test, remain in the Duleep Trophy, suggesting they will not be in the playing eleven against Bangladesh in the match to be held in Chennai.
The BCCI announced several replacements for the rested players: Pratham Singh (Railways) for Gill, Akshay Wadkar (Vidarbha CA) for KL Rahul, and SK Rasheed (Andhra CA) for Jurel. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani will replace Kuldeep Yadav, while Aaqib Khan (UPCA) will come in for Akash Deep. Mayank Agarwal has been appointed as India A’s captain in place of Gill.
For the replacements of Jaiswal and Pant, the selectors have named Suyash Prabhudessai and Rinku Singh, respectively. Nishant Sandhu will replace Axar Patel in the India D squad. Pacer Tushar Deshpande has been ruled out due to a niggle, and Vidwath Kaverappa from India A will take his place.
No changes have been made to the India C squad, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad. Pant, who returned to red-ball cricket for the first time since December 2022, performed well in the Duleep Trophy opener, as did KL Rahul and Akash Deep.